I have an Acer and got it maybe a year ago or so for emergency backup. A lot of people use internet on their phones which are really wee tiny things so I don't quite understand the balking about the netbook screen. It's massive compared to a PDA or a phone.
The netbook's performance has been just fine, it's quick to load on a high speed connection. It doesn't have a CD rom drive or DVD drive so bear that in mind when thinking about installing software.
The screen is too small for certain sites and situations so depending on the job you do it could be either perfect or inappropriate.
My almost 2 year old loves to watch videos from Nick Jr. on it while I'm on my laptop
She sits with it on the floor and has a great time. Pretty expensive toy LOL